My Heart is Still Yours
by Superhulk2007
Summary: May has left to travel with Drew but after seeing who he really is returns to Ash and the gang. Will Ash have the courage to tell her how he really feels this time? AshxMay
1. Chapter 1

**Well after reading other peoles fics for quite a while I felt inspired to write my own. As this is my first story it may not be the greatest and constructive critiscism is always welcome. Please don't flame the shiping though.**

**Superhulk2007 doesn't own Pokemon.**

* * *

The stars shone brightly above as three young men lay on the forest floor below illuminated only by the moon and the flickering of a slowly dying fire. Two of the three appear to be sleeping peacefully. However the third, a dark haired boy lying with a small yellow creature is stirring in his sleep.

_Ash was sitting in some bushes looking out as a young girl dressed almost entirely in red and a boy with green hair and a purple jacket stood in a clearing in front of him. _

"_May" the boy began "I would like for you to leave Ash and the others and travel with me through the rest of Kanto."_

"_I don't know Drew." The young girl replied. "I really can't leave Max."_

"_Max will be fine. He has your friends Ash and Brock to look after him." Drew replied as he pulled a rose from his jacket. "I really like you May and want to get to know you better." _

"_Drew I like you too." May said with a small smile as a light blush came to her cheeks. After giving it a minute of thought she replied. "Alright, I will go with you." _

"_What!" Ash thought from his spot in the bushes. "No I can't let her leave with him. I can't believe this is really happening."_

_As May finished Drew took her hand. "We need to leave as soon as possible to make it to the next contest." He said._

"_I've got to stop this." Ash thought as he ran out of his hiding spot and leaped into her arms seemingly without having complete control of his body. _

"_May don't do this. I need you still." But all that came out of his was a string of "Pikas." _

"_Oh, hi there Pikachu. How long have you been watching us?" May said releasing Drew's hand as she caught him._

"_What? No May it's not Pikachu, its Ash don't do this." He yelled his voice still coming out in a series of Poke babble. _

"_I'm sorry Pikachu, but I'm leaving to travel with Drew now. You'll tell Ash and the others where I've gone won't you?" She said as she put him back onto the ground and took Drew's hand again. The pair turned and began to walk away. Stopping quickly May turned her head and said "goodbye Pikachu maybe we'll meet again someday." And resumed walking._

"_No May don't do this!" Ash shouted as he ran as fast as his little Pokémon legs would carry him to catch up. But no matter how fast he ran they just seemed to get farther away till they disappeared entirely._

Ash bolted awake from his sleep flinging Pikachu off him as he shouted "No! Don't leave me!"

After the small flight he took the small yellow Pokémon shook the remainder of sleep from himself. "Pika, Pikachu?" He questioned his best friend.

"Sorry Pikachu." Ash replied with a sigh as he rose from his sleeping bag. "Just having that nightmare again."

Pikachu nodded understandingly.

"Come back and lay down again." Ash said as he wriggled out of his sleeping bag knowing he would have another short night of sleep again.

"Pi, Pika." Pikachusaid as he crawled into the now vacated bag.

"I'll be back in a bit." Ash said as he started walking towards the lake near where they were sleeping. Pikachu just rolled over and fell back asleep as he watched his friend walk away.

When he reached the lake Ash sat down on a rock to do some thinking._ "May. I hope your still doing well. _He hadn't heard from her since she left to travel with Drew almost a month ago.

"_I wish I had told her how I felt about her, but I wasn't even sure of my feelings myself till I found out she was leaving." _He grabbed a stone and skipped it across the water as he continued thinking.

"If only she would come back I would tell her exactly how I feel and how much I need her with me." He said to himself.

After she had left everything he loved from Pokémon training to winning the frontier symbols lost meaning to him.

"_Heck, I haven't even won a battle since she left. I really miss having her cheer for me_." As he thought this a small tear came to his eye and slid down his cheek. Not only that, he had been haunted by the same nightmare he had just experienced earlier since she had left.

"Please come back May!" He shouted to no one. Or at least he thought it was no one. As it turns out one of his other traveling companions had heard him yell in his sleep and seen him walk away from their campsite earlier. Brock had then followed him to make sure Ash was alright and sat listening to what he was saying without making his presence known. He himself had a pretty good idea of what current slump in battles and his sad demeanor was about, but after what he had just heard and seen knew for sure that he was right.

"Ash." Brock said quietly to get the young trainers attention as he sat down next to him on another rock.

Ash jumped slightly and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes before turning to face his longtime traveling companion and good friend.

Putting on a fake smile he replied. "What's up Brock?"

"I saw you leaving and was worried about you."

"Thanks for caring so much Brock."

"Listen, I heard everything you just said."

Ash blushed realizing that he had just let his biggest secret slip to his friend.

"Ash, I think that eventually May will see Drew's true colors and come back to us. When she does I think you should tell her how you feel and I'm willing to help you by giving you some love advice." Brock said, adding. "I might not have the best luck with the ladies, but I do know a few things that should help you tell her your true feelings." Brock added with a slight frown at the thought of past failures.

Ash laughed at Brock's last statement and knew that Brock had no luck at all with women. But he also knew that he trusted him completely and was sure that his help would prove to be invaluable.

"Thanks a lot Brock." Ash replied. "I know that with your help I'm sure to make May fall in love with me if and when she returns to us."

After he finished they both sat in silence looking at the stars.

"_Wow, I'm glad I have great friends like Brock to help me. I doubt I'd even be as far as I am without him being with me since the beginning."_

"_He's grown a lot since I first met him. Misty would be surprised to see him now." _Brock smiled as he thought of the impatient trainer who had challenged his rock Pokémon with a Pikachu and had won. Even if it was because of his own sprinkler system that had allowed that to happen. _"I saw something in him that I had never seen in any other trainer I had battled. A fire that seemed inextinguishable." _He knew that this trainer was going places and that he had wanted to be there to see it.

"Well Ash." Brock said as he stood up. "We're both going to need our sleep if we're going to deal with this issue properly."

"Alright, I'm coming." He said also standing, as he felt sleep beginning to overtake him. "Thanks again for all your help."

"No problem." Brock replied.

And with that the pair walked back to their campsite moving quietly so they wouldn't wake the third younger member of the group. They both slipped into their sleeping bags and allowed sleep to finally come to them, knowing morning was just a few hours away.

* * *

The sun shone gently through the windows of the Pokémon center onto May who was still sleeping.

"Come on May. You need to wake up the next contest is in less than an hour." Drew said, shaking her gently.

"Alright, Alright, I'm getting up." She replied sitting up, stretching, and yawning. "I wish you would have woken me earlier." Giving him a small kiss she rushed into the bathroom to get ready for the upcoming contest so she would look her best.

"_Why does he always wait until the last minute to wake me?" _She pondered as she brushed her hair. "_I know he says he loves me but it's like he's trying to make sure I'm not totally ready for the contest, seeing as he did the exact same thing last time."_

As she continued she reflected on her last contest, in which she had lost to Drew in the final round. "_I hope I fixed most of the mistakes I made last time. Normally I would be sure if I had Ash helping me, but with Drew I'm not sure he's giving me the best advice he can." _She sighed as she thought about her best friend Ash. "_I hope he's still doing well. I haven't heard from him since I left."_

Recently she had begun to doubt her decision more and more. While Drew was nice in a romantic way, Ash was always more willing to help her than he was. "_Oh well, it's probably all in my head. Drew loves me, he wouldn't try to slow me from reaching my goals. Would he?"_

"Finally ready to go I see." Drew sneered as she stepped out of the bathroom.

"Yeah I'm ready." She sighed pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind and grabbing her pack and pokeballs as they both left the room.

They quickly made their way to the stadium so as not to be late. Upon arriving May looked around at the turnout for the small contest they were about to enter. Harley and Soledad were there as well as some other trainers she didn't recognize.

After registering they went to the locker room to prepare for the upcoming battles. Given the turnout there would only be one round of appeals and then a semifinal match leading to the finals.

Looking slightly nervous May plopped down on a bench to wait for her name to be called to make her appeal.

"Relax May. Just remember everything we went over after the last battle." Drew said handing her a rose.

She took a deep sniff before replying. "I know Drew. But this time I'm going to beat you." She said grinning.

"That's what you think." He replied already fully in battle mode. "I'm not going to go easy on you just because I love you. However even if I weren't trying my hardest I'd still win just as easily as last time." As he added the last part he gave a flick of his hair as if to add more emphasis to what he said.

"_Why does he always act so different right before a contest? I mean I know were rivals, but still you think he could try to be nice and support me." _May wondered. She was shook from her thoughts as a voice came over the loud speaker

"Drew please report to the contest field for your appeal."

"Alright I'm off. Wish me luck." He said as he turned and headed for the field, but not before giving May a small kiss on the cheek.

"Good luck." She said blushing.

The appeals round went perfect for them with both of them making it to the battle rounds. Soledad and Harley also had good appeals and made it through. Now they all sat in the locker room waiting for the announcement about who they would face in the coming rounds. After seemingly a lifetime the same voice from earlier came over the loud speaker.

"In the semifinals the trainers going against each other will be May and Drew first. Followed by Harley and Soledad." The voice boomed.

Both of them looked at each other both sporting equally determined looks.

"Now don't go easy on me just cause were dating." May said

"I wouldn't dream of it. I'm going to win against you and whichever one of the others I have to face so I can get my next ribbon. Don't fall to far behind getting ribbons or you won't be able to enter the Kanto Grand Festival." He added this last part with a taunting sneer.

This only made May angry. She knew she was letting him take advantage of her temper and she should just ignore the last comment but she shouted a reply as he headed for the field anyway. "I am not falling behind! I'm not going to lose to you again!"

"_Someone needs to put him in his place and show him he's not the greatest thing to ever walk the Earth." _May thought angrily as she walked to the field as well. "_Guess all have to be the one to show him."_

"Get ready for a great battle everyone!" The MC Vivian shouted as May and Drew stood at opposite ends of the field. "This will be a one on one battle and the first trainer to lose all there points or whoever has the most points at the end of the time limit will be declared the winner. Now send out your Pokémon."

"Go Absol." Drew shouted as he threw his pokeball.

"Take the stage Beautifly." May shouted as she tossed her pokeball onto the field.

From Drew's pokeball came a dark type Pokémon with light gray fur and from May's came a small butterfly looking Pokémon.

May smiled as Beautifly did its entrance perfectly despite its small break from contests when it had stayed behind in Hoenn. Deciding she needed to surprise Drew somewhat she had Beautifly transferred back to her before the contest began.

"Begin." Vivian yelled.

"I think I'll start this off." Drew said confidently. "Absol razor wind."

Absol flung its head forward as a silver colored band flew from the scythe on top of its head.

"Beautifly, dodge that." May replied. But her Pokémon was just a bit to slow as it caught the full force of the attack knocking it to the ground. As it hit May's points dropped by about 1/4.

"Now Absol move in and use bite."

"Come on Beautifly. Get back up and try to use string shot." Beautifly once again took to the sky's firing a silk thread from its long appendage on its face. Absol taken by surprise at the attack was tripped up in his run as the thread wrapped around its legs, causing Drew's points to drop.

"Quick use silver wind before he can get up Beautifly." As it began flapping its wings it sent bands of silver spores flying at Absol who was still struggling to get up. They hit him directly in the side sending him flying across the field back towards Drew.

"What a stunning combination." Vivian yelled as the crowd roared from seeing the clever strategy.

As she listened to the crowd May suddenly felt a bit of sadness well up in her. "_Ash._" She thought. _"You were always cheering the loudest for me. I hope you're still cheering from wherever you are now."_

"Absol, we need to knock it out of the air!" Growled Drew after seeing his points take another drop to just below May's. Now with less than a minute left in the battle he knew he had to think fast or risk losing. "Try a hyper beam." As energy began flowing towards his Pokémon's mouth to form a ball.

"Beautifly go in for tackle before he gets his attack complete."

Beautifly charged towards Absol but it was too late already. Absol fired his prepared hyper beam hitting Beautifly right in the stomach and with this it plummeted into the ground. As the dust cleared it was clear May's Pokémon wasn't going to be getting up.

"May's Beautifly is unable to battle, which means Drew is the winner." Vivian said.

After hearing the decision May called her Pokémon back to it's Pokeball. "Thanks Beautifly you did a great job she whispered." She took one last look at the cheering crowd as Drew and Absol celebrated their victory before heading towards the locker room. "_Just great, now all I'm going to hear about for the next few days is how he beat me in this contest too."_

May was sitting on a bench by herself thinking about her loss as Drew walked into the locker room clearly pleased with himself.

"That's was some great battling." He began.

May was slightly taken a back at him actually being nice after beating her. "Thanks, you did I gre-"she began before she was interrupted.

"By this guy." Drew said pointing to himself.

"That's it Drew!" May shouted still slightly angry from his earlier cocky comments. "I'm done being your girlfriend. You act all nice sometimes but all you really care about is yourself. I never should have left my real friends. In fact I think I'm going back to travel with them."

"As if traveling with that second rate trainer Ketchum going to make you a better coordinator!" Drew said beginning to yell as well.

That was the last straw for May. "Goodbye Drew. Maybe someday you'll find a girl who likes your cocky attitude, but I'm done dealing with it."

With this she walked out of the locker room leaving Drew standing in a state of shock.

* * *

**Please write a review. Tell me what you liked or didn't like as this is my first fic as I said before I will always accept criticism. Also if you have any tips regarding how to write decent battle sequences that would be awesome as I don't really feel like I did this part very well. Thanks I will probably updtate in a week or so, I want to get a few reviews before I do. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Here it is just as promised one week later. I would like to thank OMGBREAD, HappyHereford, Farla, and Gerbilftw for the reviews. I'm glad you guys like the story so far.**

**Just a few quick things:**

**Thoughts are no longer in quotation marks only in italics because I was told that was the correct way to do it by a reader.**

**Also just so it's not confusing I want to make it clear that events for Ash and May are occurring at the same time in this chapter while they are apart. Hope that's not too confusing.**

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* * *

**

May hurriedly walked back to the pokémon center leaving behind what she currently considered the biggest mistake in her short Pokémon career.

_What a jerk! _She thought to herself_. I mean did he really think he could treat me like that and I would stay with him and now I have to try and catch up to the rest of the group, who knows where they are now. I'll be lucky to find them before the Grand Festival. _

As she reached it the center's automatic doors opened to her presence.

"Welcome back to my Pokémon Center," Nurse Joy greeted her in her typical happy fashion.

"Hello, can you heal my Beautifly for me?" May asked handing her pokeball to the nurse.

"Of course," Nurse Joy replied. "It should only be a few minutes."

The nurse turned to carry the pokeball to a machine that would heal the injured butterfly Pokémon, leaving May alone with her thoughts again.

_Hmm, _she pondered. _How am I supposed to find them? There has to be at least ten ways they could take to reach the next battle frontier challenge. _As she continued to work out the possible routes Ash and the others could take she was struck with an idea.

She turned back to the nurse who was now quietly typing on the computer at the desk. "Nurse Joy," She began. "I was wondering if you'd seen some of my friends come through here recently?"

"What do they look like?" The nurse asked looking up from the monitor.

"One of them is a dark haired boy named Ash with a Pikachu who walks around out of its pokeball all the time, the second is a young boy who's about nine named Max, and the third is a tall, tan man, named Brock who possibly said he was in love with you." She added the last part about Brock knowing he was probably someone these nurses would not soon forget.

"Now that you mention it, three people just like that stayed the night here two days ago." Nurse Joy told her.

"Did they say where they were going?" May questioned.

"I believe I heard the youngest one say something about being excited about all of the pokémon he was going to see when they were traveling through forest for some training on the way to some type of battle frontier challenge." Nurse Joy told her.

"Yay," May shouted. "I should be able to catch up with Ash if I just hurry through the forest!"

Upon hearing this Nurse Joy got a sly smile on her face. "I take it that this Ash is very important to you?"

May blushed realizing that she had only said Ash's name when she yelled about being able to find them. "W-well," She stuttered slightly. "H-he is my best friend."

Nurse Joy just smiled. A bell rang behind her signaling that Beautifly was healed. "Your Beautifly is completely healed." The nurse said handing the pokeball back to May

"Thanks." May said trying with little success to control her blushing.

"Have a nice day." The nurse replied.

As Nurse Joy watched May leave the center she decided to test her hunch about May. She yelled after her as the door opened. "Hope you find your boyfriend!"

May turned back blushing even redder than before, but instead of answering just kept moving out the door.

Outside May called her eevee out of its pokeball. The small fox-like Pokémon shook herself as she materialized in front of her.

"Come on Eevee lets go find our friends." May said smiling.

"Vee, vee eve." The Pokémon nodded in response. Having heard what May had said to Drew while still in her pokeball she understood the situation completely and was equally excited to see everyone again, especially a certain Pikachu she had missed greatly since leaving him behind about a month ago.

They continued walking towards the forest as May was somewhat lost in her thoughts talked out loud to herself.

"Well that was embarrassing." May said blushing once again as looked back on the events in the center. "We're just friends though, why do people sometimes mistake us for a couple? I mean Nurse Joy didn't even see us together. Oscar and Andy did though and they thought we were a couple after just meeting us. Do we really look that good together?"

"Eevee vee eve vee vee."

"What!" May practically shouted understanding just enough of what Eevee had just said. "I don't have a crush on Ash!"

"Vee, ee, vee eevee." The little evolution pokémon said in a sarcastic tone.

"Whatever Eevee. I don't think you know what you're talking about." May replied with her ever present blush returning to her face.

With that conversation they continued moving towards the forest with May becoming lost in her thoughts.

_Eevee must be losing it. I don't like Ash like that. Do I? He has been helping me since the beginning and any girl would be lucky to have a boy to help them as much as he's helped me, but he's probably too distracted by his pokémon to even have considered love. I mean he was with Misty way longer than he's been with me and they seem to only be friends even after that long of a time. At least I think they're just friends. Maybe that's why Ash hasn't even been hinting at wanting anything more than friendship. _Feeling sad again Maydecided it was best not to dwell on that right now she tried to put these thoughts behind her.

_I hope they accept me back. What if Ash hates me for what I did? _The thought brought a tear to her eye as she walked. _I'm sure Max will be happy to see me, but what if I ruined the friendship I had with Ash. No, I can't think that, Ash is very forgiving. I know that we'll be friends again eventually. _

Sighing she realized they were now standing at the entrance to the forest. After seeing the size of the forest she realized that the task ahead might be more difficult than she originally planned.

They walked a few yards into the forest before Eevee ran off the path and began pointing at something.

"No, Eevee. It's just some trash someone left behind."

But the Pokémon was insistent and refused to go farther.

"What is it Eevee?" May said taking a closer look. As she did she realized that it actually wasn't trash it was a jar full of Brock's Pokémon food.

"Hmm," May looked at it closely, an idea about how to find her friends more easily coming to her mind. "Eevee do you think that you can get Brock's scent off this jar and lead me to them?"

Eevee just nodded at the idea as she had already thought of it.

"Alright let's give it a try." She said as she lowered the jar so Eevee could smell it.

With a quick sniff the pokémon started running into the woods already finding the scent trail with May running quickly behind her.

* * *

Ash was slowly awakened by the smell of breakfast cooking as it slowly spread over the camp. Seeing the sun shining gently through the trees and the sounds of the forest Pokémon slowly moving around he realized that morning had come already. Rubbing the last of his sleep from his eyes he turns to his small sleeping companion.

"Come on Pikachu," He said shaking the sleeping electric mouse gently. "It smells like breakfast is almost ready."

Groggily shaking the sleep from itself and stretching the pokémon eventually leapt into Ash's arms. "Pika, pika chu" he said as he gently rubbed his cheek against Ash's.

"About time you woke up Ash," Max said from across the camp. "Brock and I have been up for at least an hour.

Ash looked around after pulling on his sweatshirt, realizing that most of the camp was already packed up.

"Sorry Max," He replied. "I was up late thinking and didn't get too sleep when I thought I would."

"What were you thinking about Ash?" The young boy questioned in his typical curious nature.

Ash began to blush and stutter as he tried to come up with a decent way to avoid telling what had really kept him from sleeping last night. "W-well I was j-just t-t-thinking about…" As he continued his tongue seemed to get tied up around itself and he felt his face warm considerably.

"He was just thinking about his next frontier battle I'm sure. Got you a little nervous doesn't it Ash?" Brock cut in, saving Ash from an embarrassing situation.

"O-oh yeah," Ash replied sheepishly, catching on to what Brock was trying to do surprisingly quickly. "You know just considering some possible strategies and such."

"Alright, if you say so." Max replied with but in his head he was questioning the answer. _Ash has never been nervous before a match except for before he competed in the Hoenn league championships. Oh well, maybe his current streak of losses has him questioning his battle strategies._ Finally he let the doubts in his head rest.

"Breakfast is ready." Brock said, handing Ash and Max a plate and, while shooting Ash a knowing look. Setting a bowl of food out for Pikachu he grabbed his own plate and put some food on it.

As they slowly ate breakfast Max questioned Brock about the kinds of Pokémon they might see in the forest. Eventually Brock brought out his trusty guide book and gave it to the boy showing him where it listed all the possible Pokémon in the area. Ash however, wasn't really paying any attention as he let himself get lost in his thoughts.

_I hope she comes back. I need to tell her how I really feel. At least I've got Brock to help me and on second thought I wonder if Pikachu knows how I feel seeing as we are so close, maybe I'll ask him if I get the chance._

* * *

Looking back Eevee saw her trainer falling farther behind as they ran. Deciding it was probably time for a quick rest the Pokémon slowed to a walk.

"Thanks Eevee. I just need to catch my breath for a minute." May said breathing heavily as she walked behind the small Pokémon. "I would think we have to be getting close, but with them having a two day head start for all I know they are already in the next town."

Eevee of course knew based on how strong the scent was that they were definitely getting close, but knowing that May didn't fully understand her when she spoke just kept silent.

"Alright, I'm ready to go again." As May said Eevee took off again in a full sprint, looking back only briefly to be sure that May was following her.

* * *

"What do think Ash?" Max asked him.

"About what?" Ash asked shaking the current thoughts from his head.

"I asked you if you think we'll see any butterfree in the forest."

"Probably seeing as they're pretty common here in Kanto." Ash replied, his thoughts being drawn to an old friend he hasn't seen in ages. _I wonder how Butterfree is doing since he went off with the rest of them. Hopefully I'll run into him again someday._

"Have you ever seen one?" Max continued questioning the trainer.

"I actually captured and trained one on my first trip through Kanto." He told Max.

"Really?"

"Yep, I caught him as a caterpie and he eventually evolved into a butterfree."

"What happened to him?"

"We eventually ran into a flock of butterfree, he fell in love with one of them, and eventually left to be with her." Brock told Max, taking over the story for Ash who appeared to be lost in thought again.

"Ash, how about you go refill the canteens while Max and I clean up breakfast?" Brock asked.

"Sure," Ash said pulling his focus back to the current conversation. "You coming with me Pikachu?"

"Pika!" the small Pokémon replied climbing up to Ash's shoulder.

"Great, there is a stream about fifty yards that way." Brock said pointing Ash in the proper direction.

"Be back soon." The trainer said as he and Pikachu began walking away.

Ash easily found the stream and as he knelt down to begin filling the canteens he started a small conversation with Pikachu.

"So, I'm sure you know as well as anyone what my mood is about lately."

"Pi" The pokémon nodded.

"Then there's no reason for me to go into great detail right now. What would you think of me asking May to be my girlfriend if she comes back Pikachu?"

"Chu pika pikachu!" Pikachu replied excitedly, rubbing up against Ash's cheek.

"Thanks Pikachu. Knowing that you are alright with and are willing to support me takes a lot off my mind." Ash said grinning.

"Um, excuse me," A voice came from behind him.

Snapping his head around Ash saw a girl about his age, maybe slightly older standing there. He turned bright red not knowing how much of the conversation she had heard. His fears were unfounded however as the girl continued on either oblivious or ignoring what he had said.

"Are you a trainer?" She asked as she held out her hand.

"Yeah," Ash said as he shook her hand. "I'm Ash Ketchum, from Pallet Town." Now standing, he took in her appearance. She was shorter than him by about a foot, had blond hair, and was dressed in an orange t-shirt and shorts.

"I'm Jessica Smith from Johto. Up for a battle? I'm training for the Kanto gyms and could use some practice before I face the next gym leader." She said smiling.

"Sure, I never turn down battle, but how about if we go back to the clearing where I'm camped seeing as there isn't much room here?" Ash asked with his own smile.

"Sounds good to me." She said as she followed Ash the short distance back to the camp.

* * *

"This will be a one on one battle with no time limit." Brock said as he stood in between the two trainers now spaced out across the clearing where they were originally camped.

"Pikachu you ready?" Ash asked his starter Pokémon.

"Pi" he responded jumping off of Ash's shoulder and standing in front of him.

"A pikachu, huh? Well I'll just go with this then." Jessica shouted throwing her pokeball onto the field.

From the ball came a short, green Pokémon with a large bulb on its back. "Bulbasaur!" it said clearly prepared for battle.

_A Bulbasaur!_ Max thought, excited at the prospect of a great battle this early in the day. _This won't be an easy battle for Pikachu, but Ash has been in tons of battles where he didn't have the type advantage and won._

"I guess I'll start us off, ladies first and all." Jessica said "Razor leaf Bulbasaur!"

Dozens of razor sharp leaves flew at Pikachu, but Ash was prepared for the attack.

"Use agility to dodge Pikachu, then thunderbolt!" He shouted.

Pikachu appeared as a blur briefly and briefly and once out of harm's way a short distance from where razor leaf was aimed, his cheeks sparked and then he shot a massive bolt of electricity at the grass Pokémon.

"Use vine whip on the tree to ground yourself." Jessica calmly told Bulbasaur from where she stood. Cutting off the original razor leaf Bulbasaur quickly shot a vine from his back a hooked it around a nearby tree just as the electricity hit him.

"Yes, a direct hit!" Ash shouted as he watched Bulbasaur take the hit. But something just didn't seem right, as the attack ended Bulbasaur seemed unaffected by it at all.

"I hope you didn't expect it to be that easy." Jessica taunted from where she stood. "With a grass Pokémon's natural resistance to electricity making it ground itself on something else almost completely eliminates the damage it would normally take."

Ash shook his dumbly for even considering that he could use electricity to win this.

"Now Bulbasaur try razor leaf again." Once again leaves shot from the bulb on its back and towards Pikachu.

"Use agility to dodge again and then move in close to Bulbasaur." Ash shouted.

As Pikachu dodged the attack once again and charged towards the Bulbasaur Ash yelled one last command hoping it would work this time. "Iron Tail Pikachu!"

"Not a chance Ash," Jessica stated calmly. "We just need to slow you down some, so bulbasaur blanket the field with stun spore." Bulbasaur stopped the current attack and fired a fine powder that fell directly onto pikachu as well as the rest of the field. Pikachu was stopped in his tracks as he breathed in a whiff of the powder coming down onto him.

_Oh no_ Max thought from where he sat. _Now Pikachu really is in trouble, that stun spore paralyzed him completely._

"Now wrap bulbasaur." Two vines shot from bulbasaur squeezing Pikachu and slowly weakening the paralyzed Pokémon.

Ash shoulders slumped as he sensed his impending defeat once again.

Suddenly he hears a voice coming from the woods. "You're not going to give up that easy. Are you Ash?"

* * *

**I realize some of you are probably annoyed by me cutting it off there, but it seemed like a good place to stop. Just want to let you guys know for those who hate having battles in fanfics this could possibly have been the last one I put in this story, but I have a few ideas so you never know, at least no more battles (not counting the end of this one) for several chapters. **

**By the way the girl Ash battles in this chapter isn't based off of me just to make that clear, I'm actually a guy named Alex.**

**As for the technique used by Bulbasaur to prevent being shocked, I seem to remember a trainer doing something like that with grass pokemon in the first season of the show. **

**Just curious what do you guys think of my pace so far? I have read many fanfics where I felt like I was being rushed through the story so I'm trying to avoid that. **

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed last time. Too those of who read but decided not to review (I know there was a bunch of you. This story had about one hundred views) it's not that hard just click the link down there and tell me what you thought.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter three and the conclusion to the battle I started in chapter 2.**

**Thanks to Kazama the shell Bullet, HappyHereford, and arckangel801 for the reviews and also thanks to all of you who have added this to your favorites.**

**Superhulk2007 does not own pokemon.**

* * *

Suddenly he hears a voice coming from the woods. "You're not going to give up that easy. Are you Ash?" May said as she and Eevee stepped out from the bushes.

"May!" Max shouted as he ran over and hugged her. "I missed you so much."

_Wow I can't believe it, she's actually here. Where's Drew though? I'm sure he couldn't be that far behind her. _Ash thought temporarily forgetting about the battle he's currently involved in.

"Good to see you to Max!" She said as she returned the hug. Noticing Ash staring at both of them she shouted at him. "Come on Ash! Get your head in the battle! I know you can pull out the win"

"Oh yeah." Ash replied as he turned his attention back to the battle as his posture straightened and he regained his confident smile. _I hope Pikachu can shake his paralysis long enough to get an attack off. Oh well, no way to know if I don't try. _"Pikachu try to use thunderbolt!"

Pikachu grunted slightly and then with great effort unleashed the attack. Even though it wasn't terribly effective, with both his vines wrapped around Pikachu there was no way Bulbasaur could avoid feeling some of the attack. His vines loosened slightly and Pikachu was able to wiggle out.

"Now, Iron Tail!"

With the how close he was to Bulbasaur, this time there would be no chance to dodge. As Pikachu's tail glowed a brilliant silver he spun striking Bulbasaur right on the head. Bulbasaur slid backwards towards its trainer looking slightly dazed and tired from long battle despite not being hit before that as Pikachu stepped back towards Ash.

_Now's my chance. _Ash thought. "Pikachu volt tackle."

Using the last bit of strength he had he raced across the field the voltage from its cheeks surrounding him entirely. Hitting Bulbasaur as hard as he can the grass pokémon is sent flying farther back across the field.

"Get up Bulbasaur! I know you can do it. "Jessica shouted losing the calm demeanor she's had for most of the battle.

Bulbasaur slowly rose to its feet, but collapsed again as soon as he reached his feet.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle. Ash is the winner." Brock said from the center of the field.

Looking shocked Jessica recalled her bulbasaur and whispered a few words of thanks for a great battle.

Pikachu on the other hand ran over May as soon as the battle was over. Leaping into her arms he cooed softly as she scratched him between the ears. May giggled as she held the electric mouse gently in her arms.

"That was a great battle." Ash said walking over to Jessica and extending his hand. He was completely surprised however when instead of shaking his hand she pulled him into a hug.

"That it was." She said looking over his shoulder and sticking her tongue out at May.

Bristling slightly in seeing a trainer she had yet to meet pull Ash into a hug, May felt a jealous rage building inside her that this girl had the audacity to do it. But she almost lost it completely when the girl stuck her tongue out at her. _Wait, why should I be mad? For all I know there just old friends who haven't seen each other in a while._

Ash, blushing bright red turned to look at her as Jessica released her hug. Seeing the angry look on May's face he looked away quickly. _Oh great she's back only a couple of minutes and I've already screwed up._

May stomped over to them getting her anger under control as she did.

"Hi there, I'm May." She told the new girl in as happy a tone as she could manage.

"I'm Jessica, it's nice to meet you."

"So where's your next gym battle?" Ash asked having found his words after the embarrassing experience.

"Sabrina's gym in Saffron City."

"Well, good luck with that she's a tough trainer." Ash told her.

"So I've heard. I'll be ready for her thou-"Jessica would have finished but was interrupted by the sound of two peoples stomach's rumbling.

"Well it seems that at least two people are hungry." Brock cut in, interrupting the current conversation. "Would you like to stay and have lunch with us Jessica?"

"No, I think I'll pass this time. I need to get a move on to make it to the next up some of the time I lost with the battle, but before I do I would like to talk to Ash for a second."

"Sure, what do you want do need to ask me?" Ash asked.

"Actually it would be better if we did this alone." Jessica told him.

"Okay, why don't the rest of you get lunch ready? I'll be there in just a minute." Ash told the rest of the group.

May watched the pair walk a short distance away. She felt slightly sick as her stomach felt like it was doing flips as she turned away. _Well that's not normal. But why should I be nervous apparently they know each other better than I originally thought._

* * *

"Okay, what's up?" Ash asked now standing apart from the rest of the group.

"I just wanted to tell you that I heard everything you said when you were by the river."

Ash turned bright red. "R-really? So I suppose you pulled me away from the others to make fun of me?" Ash asked defensively.

"No, no, nothing like that I just wanted to tell you I think that you should tell May how you feel. I think she feels the same way about you."

"What makes you say that?" Ash questioned temporarily forgetting his embarrassment.

"You couldn't see it from where you stood but her reaction when I hugged you was one of complete jealousy."

"Really but I thought she was mad at me."

"She's probably more mad at me then you. Besides if she thinks she has competition for you it might make her want you more."

"So, you were helping me?"

"Yep, well I need to get going now. Maybe when we run into each again we can have a rematch?" She said winking at him and then turning to go down the path towards the city that Ash and company just left a few days ago.

Ash walked slowly back to the group and saw that Brock had sandwiches made already. Grabbing one he sat down near the breeder.

"So Ash, was she an old friend from some of your travels?" May questioned insistently as soon as he sat down.

_Huh, maybe Jessica was right and May is obviously nervous based on how fast she started questioning me. _Ash thought before answering. "No, actually I just met her when I went to find some water for us."

"Really well she seemed to be pretty friendly then." May said with an annoyed look as she thought back to the hug that Ash and Jessica shared.

"Well you know Ash is a friendly guy." Brock said cutting in and trying to save Ash after seeing the look on May's face. "She probably just felt it was the right way to thank him for a great battle."

"Maybe." May answered now pondering what Brock had told her. _He's probably right. I mean Ash treats everyone like a friend unless they prove they don't deserve it by doing bad things._

"So May, where's Drew?" Max questioned.

"We broke up after I found out what a jerk he really is." May replied.

_Yes! Now I don't have to worry about Drew when I tell May how I feel. _Ash thought a small smile coming to his face.

* * *

After eating the small lunch the group started making their way through the forest again. They traveled mostly in silence except for May with Pikachu still in her arms, Eevee on her shoulder and Max making small talk to pass the time.

Walking slightly behind the other two, Brock gently nudged Ash and then nodded towards May. Ash understood right away what Brock was trying to get him to do.

_The least I can do is try to start a conversation so it's less awkward. Well here goes nothing. _Hethought_. _"So May, how have your contests been going?"

"To be completely honest, not very well. Even with Drew's help I haven't earned another ribbon yet. Of course it doesn't help that I had to battle him in both contests. Have you earned anymore frontier symbols yet?"

"No, we were on our way to the next one when Jessica found me and asked for a battle."

"Well I'm glad I didn't miss any of your frontier battles." May said instantly feeling her stomach lurch when the trainer's name was mentioned.

"I can help you train for the next contest." Ash told her knowing it was one of the few things he could say that would most likely brighten her mood.

"That'd be great Ash, but I don't want to distract you from your own training." May replied a small smile as well as a light blush appearing on her face.

"Don't worry about it. We've always trained together and it hasn't seemed to affect either of our battles in a bad way. Besides I'm mostly prepared for my next challenge anyway." _Not to mention knowing that you're right there cheering for me is pretty much a guarantee that I'll win. _Ash thought returning the smile May had given him with his own. Ash had not long after meeting her started considering May somewhat his good luck charm for battles, as he always seemed to do better when she was there.

_Now I really wonder what is wrong with Ash._ Max thought from where he walked next to his sister. _Just this morning he was saying he was losing sleep worrying about his next battle and now he says he's totally ready. What's changed since this morning? _He pondered the question allowing it to slowly swirl around in his mind as he continued to walk. _He did just win a battle and he hasn't done that since… well since May left. _Suddenly it all made sense.

He looked slowly between his sister and Ash noticing the blush on her face and the smile that Ash hasn't had since she left. He turned towards Brock shooting him a questioning glance. Brock merely nodded silently at the small boy knowing exactly what he was thinking.

With this Max grinned to himself and turned toward the path in front of them.

"What are you so happy about?" May questioned seeing the grin on his face.

"Nothing," He replied quickly. "Just thinking about all of the Pokémon we could see."

"Max I can tell when you're lying, we are brother and sister after all"

"I'm just excited at the prospect of seeing all the Pokémon, like I told you before."

May opened her mouth to pry further but was stopped as a pokémon flew over her head missing hitting her by just an inch.

"AHHH!" What is it?" She asked pointing in the pokémon's direction.

"A butterfree and I'm going to catch it!" Ash shouted running in front of the group and stopping near the small butterfly pokémon.

"Go Sceptile!" Ash shouted throwing his pokeball in front of himself. The green lizard pokémon appeared, stuck a twig in its mouth and stared at its opponent waiting for a command.

"Start off with bullet seed"

Taking a deep breath Sceptile exhaled shooting the yellow, glowing projectiles at the butterfly pokémon. Butterfree was unprepared for the attack and took the full force it knocking it to the ground. It slowly rose from the ground seemingly ready for more.

"Now, finish up with leaf blade!"

Extending the leaves on its arms the grass Pokémon lunged at Butterfree. The attack knocked it back to the ground. Ash watched as it struggled to regain flight once again. This time it couldn't get back up.

"Pokeball go!" Ash shouted tossing the sphere and hitting the bug Pokémon. Butterfree turned red and then was sucked into the ball. It hit the ground and shook, once, twice, three times and then was still.

"Yeah, I caught a butterfree!" Ash yelled grabbing the ball and holding it in front of him to release his new capture.

"Nice job Ash. That butterfree never knew what hit him." May said stepping next to him.

The Pokémon hovered weakly in front of Ash. "You want to travel with me Butterfree?"

"Free, free!" The Pokémon nodded happily towards Ash and then landed on his hat.

"Awesome. Brock do you have any medicine to help Butterfree heal faster?"

"Of course." Brock said digging in his backpack. "This will sting a bit, but will help you feel better soon." He told the bug Pokémon spraying a bit of medicine on its wings.

"You okay May?" Ash asked seeing her stare at him again.

"Yeah I'm fine." She replied still somewhat shocked at the display of compassion Ash had shown the butterfee. _That's just like him, still wanting to know if Butterfree wants to travel with him even after capturing it fair and square. No wonder he has so made so many friends during his travels with the way he treats everyone, not like Drew who has pushed so many away and travelled mostly alone._

"Okay if you're sure. Sceptile return." Ash said satisfied with May's answer while holding out the lizard pokémon's pokeball to recall him.

"Alright let's keep going guys. We still need to find somewhere camp before night completely falls." Brock said noticing the sun setting slowly behind them.

They continued walking eventually finding a small clearing to make a good campsite.

"Alright, guys let's try to get a fire going before it's too dark to see." Brock said taking charge as usual. "Ash collect some firewood for us and May why don't you get some water from the stream. Max you can stay and help me."

Ash, Butterfree and Pikachu who had recently returned to his perch on Ash's shoulder set out in one direction and May wandered off into the woods in another to complete their specified tasks while Max helped Brock find what he needed to make stew for all of them.

"So I take it you figured out what is going on between Ash and May huh?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, but it's still kinda weird to think about, I mean Ash clearly likes my sister and she obviously shows it back. But Ash is my best friend I can't believe he can fall for my dumb ol' sister like that."

"Well Max, love tends to find a way to work out no matter what gets between two people and sometimes time apart can actually bring people closer." Brock told the young boy wisely as he chopped some vegetables to add to the stew.

"Do you think one of them will tell the other soon?" Max questioned.

"I don't know we'll just have to see what happens. Ash seems completely sure of how he feels and I don't know how May feels although I do agree with you that she seems to feel the same."

* * *

Ash and May both got back to camp after completing their tasks and Brock set to work in a typical brilliant display of his culinary skills as the rest of sat around the fire watching like they hadn't seen food in days.

Soon the smell of the delicious stew began to fill the clearing and two of its occupants were clearly showing little restraint as the enticing smell seemed to draw them towards the source.

"It's almost ready." Brock told them as he stopped stirring and took a small taste. "We should also feed a couple of Pokémon who I know are also hungry.

He walked to his backpack and pulled out several jars of food. "Hmm," he frowned. "It seems I misplaced one of my jars of food. Have any of you seen it?"

"Here you go Brock." May said pulling it out of her pack that she was still wearing and handing it to him. "Eevee found it earlier and I forgot about it till now.

"Thanks." He replied taking the jar. "I think Pikachu would be sad if I lost some of the food I made just for him."

Placing several bowls of food onto the ground he turned to the Butterfree who was still taking residence on Ash's head. "This is a food I created especially for butterfly Pokémon, why don't you try some and tell me what you think."

"Free." The Pokémon replied flying off of Ash and landing near the bowl.

"Do you think my Beautifly could try some too?" May asked.

"Of course I always love testing new recipes on willing participants."

"Alright, Beautifly come on out!" May said as she threw the pokeball near the bowl. In a flash of red Beautifly materialized near Ash's Butterfree.

"Butter ter free?" The Pokémon questioned the new arrival.

"Fly Beautifly." She answered before the two of them settled down to enjoy a meal together.

"Seems like there going to be friends already." Ash said smiling from where he sat beside the fire.

"Yeah it does. I think that Butterfree will be a great addition to your team and he seems really friendly." May smiled back.

"Alright stews ready." Brock told them as Ash and May rushed up to the pan to be the first to try the surely excellent stew. However as they ran towards the food they tripped over each other's legs landing in a rather compromising position with May laying on top of Ash her face just inches from his.

"Sorry about that Ash." May said blushing as she stood and extended her hand to help Ash to his feet.

"Don't worry about it." He said blushing as well while be helped up by May.

"Ash and May sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Max began to say as he walked over to the fire to get some stew for himself.

"Can it twerp!" May yelled shaking her fist at him from where she stood the blushes now clearly shown on both May and Ash's faces.

"Okay, okay." Max said ducking behind Brock's legs for protection. "Just don't hit me."

The rest of dinner went smoother as they sat around the fire. The stew was as good as expected and Ash and May both ate several helpings before finally having their hunger satisfied.

As they sat on their sleeping bags the group began to make small talk mostly about what has happened since they split up.

"So May when did you bring Beautifly back? I thought she was enjoying a little time off back at Professor Birch's lab." Ash asked.

"I decided that I needed to bring her back to surprise Drew before the last contest but it didn't really work out like I planned." May answered a small frown appearing on her face from reliving some bad past memories.

"Don't worry about that I'll make sure you win the next one when I help you train." Ash told her a fire in his eyes at the thought of another pokémon battle.

"Thanks again for saying you'd help me Ash." She replied her eyes drawn to his auburn ones as the warmth they exuded was very comforting.

"So guys now that I've seen a Butterfree do you think that we'll see any more of the pokémon Brock's guide book mentioned? Max questioned.

"I'm sure we will Max it would be very rare occurrence to make it through this whole forest and see only one Pokémon." Brock told him

Ash ignored this conversation as he felt transfixed by May's brilliant blue eyes as the dancing of the fire seemed to make them shine like stars. He pulled his gaze away quickly when he realized he was staring so as not to be caught.

May however was oblivious to the stares of Ash as she looked around the group only partially listening to what the conversation about some of the forest Pokémon that Brock and Max were having. As she continued to look about she noticed her Beautifly and Ash's Butterfree sitting closely together on a low tree branch also apparently having a quiet conversation.

_I'm glad that Beautifly was able to make friends with Butterfree so easily. The way they appear to be talking it seems like they've known each other forever._

Her gaze finally settled on Pikachu and Eevee who sat next to each other. It appeared Pikachu was telling jokes or funny stories from the past as every so often Eevee would begin laughing after hearing what he said. After a few minutes of this Eevee curled up closely to Pikachu with him soon following suit and cuddling close to her. Eevee gave him a small lick on the cheek, then the pair fell asleep.

May continued watching feeling slightly shocked by what she had witnessed. _Wow, Pikachu never lets anyone get that close to him. Brock always says that Pokémon represent the feelings of their trainers, so is Eevee just showing the feelings that I'm too afraid of admitting I have and on that note is Pikachu showing how Ash feels about me. Oh this is so confusing. I don't know what to think. As far as I know we're just friends, but maybe, just maybe he might want it to be something more._

"Well I think I'm going to get some sleep. Goodnight everyone." Brock said from across the fire.

"That sounds like I a good idea. Good night Brock, goodnight May and Max sweet dreams." Ash said crawling into his sleeping bag. "Pikachu going to join…" Ash stopped as he saw Eevee and Pikachu curled up near the fire. "Oh guess not. I don't think I'll wake him seeing as he and Eevee look so comfortable.

The other two soon followed but May couldn't sleep still thinking about Ash.

_Ash, _She thought sitting up and watching him sleep. _Do I really feel that way about him? I guess he is kinda cute. Wait did I really just think that? Well I guess there's no denying that I'm falling in love with my best friend. I wonder if he feels the same way. I really shouldn't be so surprised by this; he has been there since the beginning. Maybe I'm just afraid it'll end up the same way it is with Drew. No, I can't think that Ash isn't like Drew. _She jumped a bit as Ash started talking in his sleep.

"Go Pikachu use… sandwich attack."

_Typical Ash pokémon and food his two favorite things._

She finally lay back down and allowed her tired eyes to close as sleep enveloped her.

The little electric mouse raised his head and listened to the sound of breathing. Finally deciding his friends were all deep in sleep he slowly moved away from Eevee and towards his two best friends. Ash and May were sleeping almost right next to each other which is what even made this little plan possible. Pikachu enacted his plan by pulling Ash's hand closer to the center of the pair before moving on and laying May's hand on top of Ash's and entangling their fingers. He grinned to himself picturing the reaction this should draw from the pair as he quietly made his way back to Eevee and lay down against her once again.

* * *

**Well there it is, hope you liked it. Please review this chapter if you get a minute. I'm going to try to get the next chapter up within a week but with school starting again soon you never know. Thanks for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well first I would just like to say sorry to all of you who have been waiting for this update. I didn't think it would take this long to finish.**

**I would also like to thank Gerbilftw, TechnoKitty019, AnimeObsessedFans, and the anonymous reviewer for all the reviews. To those of you who haven't reviewed yet (This story has gotten over 1,000 hits) please tell me what you think so far. As I said in my first chapter I'm always willing to accept constructive criticism, so even if you don't like it tell me why.**

**A/N: This chapter opens with a dream sequence and the thoughts during it are shown in bold just so it doesn't get confusing.**

**The action also picks up a bit in this chapter.**

**Superhulk2007 doesn't own Pokemon**

* * *

_The wind blew gently through May's hair as she looked around to get her bearings. She was surrounded by clouds and a bright blue sky. __**I'm on the back of a pokémon?**__ She thought. As she looked down she saw the forest far below. Realizing how high she was she quickly grabbed onto the other rider of the strange bird pokémon. May now looked up realizing she was with someone on this ride. The other person's messy black haired poked out from underneath their hat._

"_Ash?" She said quietly still somewhat afraid falling. "What are we doing up here?"_

"_I asked you to come for a ride on my Pidgeotto." Ash answered without taking his eyes off the horizon._

"_Really? I don't remember that."_

"_How could you forget, it was only five minutes ago. You feeling alright May?" Ash asked teasingly._

"_Yeah I'm fine." She said loosening her grip slightly realizing she was up here with her best friend and he wouldn't let her fall._

_They rode on in silence for several more minutes before Ash spoke up again. _

"_There it is." He said pointing to a lake far below them. "Pidgeotto take us down."_

"_You wanted to show me the lake?" May asked as the graceful bird Pokémon slowly brought them down._

"_Something like that." Ash said chuckling to himself._

"_What's so funny?" _

"_Nothing, we're almost on the ground though. You better hang on tight sometimes the landings can be a little rough._

_May squeezed him tighter. __**Who knew it would be so comfortable holding him? I've never felt safer than I do now.**__ She thought a blush coming to her face._

_Pigeotto spread his wings fully and landed gracefully near a blanket that was spread out on the ground with the Ash's backpack sitting in the center._

"_What is this Ash?"_

"_I thought we could have a picnic out here so we could have some time alone." Ash said holding out his hand to help her climb off of Pidgeotto's back._

"_Thanks Ash." May said smiling at him as she stepped down. "I think a picnic sounds like a great idea!"_

"_I knew you would. Now come on let's eat."_

"_Alright, alright I'm coming." May told him as he led her to the blanket._

_Sitting down May leaned against Ash enjoying the warmth of his body as it spread to hers. Ash opened the bag and pulled out a wide variety of food. _

"_Wow Ash I didn't know you could cook." May said looking wide eyed as the delicious smell of food began to fill the air when Ash opened several containers._

"_Well actually I may have had some help from Brock." Ash answered sheepishly rubbing the back of his head._

"_No matter, it's still a very sweet thing of you to do."_

_They ate slowly May enjoying the company of Ash as she sat as close as possible to him._

"_You should try some of this." Ash said holding out the rice ball he was eating in offering to her. _

_Taking a small bite May mumbled through the food in her mouth. Wow Ash that's amazing, Brock's rice balls never taste this good."_

"_Well those I did make myself." He told her looking down and deep into her sapphire eyes._

_May felt herself becoming lost in his eyes as she leaned closer to his face._

_**This is it.**__ She thought closing her eyes as they continued moving closer. __**My first kiss with Ash!**_

"_May there's something I need to tell you" he said stopping just a short distance from her lips._

"_Yes?" May said barely able to contain herself._

"_May…" His voice came out as a whisper this time._

_**Will just say it so we can continue on with what we were about to do. **__She thought blushing._

"_May…" _

_This time she felt someone gently shaking her._

"_May you need to wake up."_

"_What are you talking about Ash?"_

_As she said it she opened her eyes and Ash disappeared from in front of her. Looking around she realized Pidgeotto had disappeared as well and the forest was slowly fading as well._

"_May come on!" She heard Ash's voice again, still a whisper but a more hurried one._

She closed her eyes and when she opened them again she was back in the campsite she thought she had left far behind looking right into Ash's eyes.

"What's going on Ash?" She asked not realizing that in her sleep after Pikachu's little joke she had moved closer to Ash and now had her arms wrapped tightly around his arm.

"We're at the campsite and I need you to let go of my arm."

Blushing, she quickly unwrapped her arms after realizing what she had done. Unfortunately two pokémon were already awake and had witnessed the entire scene. It seems Pikachu had heard Ash trying wake May due to his sensitive hearing and had woken Eevee so she could enjoy the show as well. Now the pair sat laughing uncontrollably watching their trainers try to avoid the embarrassing situation that would no doubt occur if their other travelling companions had witnessed the scene.

"Sorry Ash I must have been having a bad dream." May told him her face now bright red.

"Don't worry about it." Ash said trying to hide his blush.

He sat up and looked around the campsite his eyes stopping on the pair of pokémon who sat laughing.

"That wasn't very funny guys." Ash said glaring slightly.

"Pika, pika chu."

"Me and May are not in love!" He practically shouted at the pokémon. In his mind however he had to admit that he enjoyed having her that close to him.

"Eevee, vee, eve." The small fox Pokémon said deciding to join in the fun.

"Now that's enough of that Eevee we don't you starting rumors that aren't true." May said trying to save Ash from the Pokémon now double teaming him.

"Good to see you two are finally up." Brock said stepping into the clearing with a bundle of logs. "You looked like you were both pretty comfortable there."

Both Ash and May turned bright red after realizing they'd been caught.

"Hey Brock, do you think maybe we could not tell Max about this." May asked noticing her brother still asleep and not wanting to endure his teasing if he found out.

"Of course." Brock answered. _He already knows more than you think he knows anyway. It's not like he'd be surprised by it._

"Well, hurry up and get ready, according to the guide book and Max's pokenav the center is only about two miles away."

Brock set down the logs and started the fire before shaking Max awake. He then returned to the fire and began cooking eggs for the group.

"How about we start training for your next contest when we reach the pokémon center May?" Ash asked.

"Sounds good to me! I think a practice battle would do me good seeing as it was the battle round that cost me the last contest." May answered cheerfully.

After the quick breakfast the group began to make their way to the center, none of them noticing the trio of eyes that were following them.

* * *

"I think we's should enact our plan nows." A small cat Pokémon said from some bushes just off the path.

"No, we always move in too early and blow it!" A red haired woman said from where she was crouched near the other two.

"But Jessie they wouldn't be expecting it now." The blue haired man next to her complained.

"No James! You heard them they're going to have a practice battle at the center. After they tire themselves out we'll swoop in and finally grab Pikachu." Jessie answered losing her temper slightly. Meowth is the mecha ready?"

"All set, just need to wait for the right time." The cat Pokémon answered.

"We're losing sight of them, we need to keep up you with the twerps you guys know that, right?" James said.

With that the trio moved quietly through the bushes to catch up with the group of traveling trainers now about 100 yards ahead of them.

* * *

Drew sat up after feeling the sun shine on him. Looking around he realized he was all alone again.

"Damn, I've got to catch up to her and win her back." He said quietly. "I can't let Ketchum steal her from me."

He thought angrily of the trainer who seemed to beat him without even trying.

_Why did I let myself be such a jerk to her? I really love her._ Drew thought to himself sadly as he began packing up his things.

_I will find her and take her from Ketchum again. _He thought. _He's had plenty of time to tell her he loves her and didn't. Well Ketchum, you had better be ready to have your heart broke again when I take her back from you!_

He pushed this thought to rest in the back of his mind while he looked determinedly at the path ahead of him and began walking again.

* * *

"Finally I get to sleep in a nice warm bed." May said after spotting the center coming into view over a hill.

"Give me sleeping under the stars anytime." Ash answered. "Race you guys there!" and with that Ash took off running towards the center.

"Not a chance Ash. I'm not going to let you win this time!" May shouted as she began running to catch up to him.

Brock and Max both looked at each other and just shook their heads at their friends before starting to jog at a much slower pace not even attempting to catch up to their friends.

* * *

"Yay, I beat you this time Ash!" May cheered, while the pair stood catching their breath outside the center.

"Yeah, yeah whatever if you hadn't tripped me back there I would have had you beat." Ash grumbled pretending to be upset about losing.

"All I did was give you a little push as I ran past. You're the one who hooked your foot on that rock in the path." She answered giving him a wink.

"About time you guys got here." Ash said turning to see Brock and Max slowly walking towards the pair.

"We don't have to run everywhere, you know." Brock said. "Sometimes it's nice just to enjoy the scenery."

"I agree with Brock." Max added. "Besides I thought I saw a pokémon back there and had to stop and check."

"Alright next time we'll do it your way." Ash said, as the he stepped towards the center the doors opened automatically.

"Hello, welcome to my Pokémon center." A familiar red haired nurse said cheerfully from behind her desk as the group walked up.

"Hi there," Ash began as he approached her. "I was wondering if-"

"If you would like to go to dinner and a movie with me some time." Brock shouted running up and grabbing Nurse Joy's hand.

Looking shocked Nurse Joy didn't know what to say. Luckily for her Max had just the right answer.

"Ow, not the ear!" Brock shouted as he was dragged away by the small boy.

"Sorry about that. As I was saying, do you have any rooms available?" Ash said looking slightly embarrassed by Brock's reaction.

"Of course." Nurse Joy answered reaching under the desk before handing him a key.

"Thank you." Ash said politely as he turned to May. "Still up for some training?"

"Yep all set. I think I'll use Eevee since she is who I plan on using in the next contest." May answered as she pulled the evolution pokémon's pokéball out of her pack.

"Alright, then I'll use Pikachu. I think we should leave the rest of our pokémon with Nurse Joy so they can have a good rest."

"Sounds good to me."

"Sorry about that Nurse Joy." Max said upon returning he still looked embarrassed at Brock's behavior earlier.

"Nothing to worry about. Actually it was kind of flattering." The nurse answered looking slightly embarrassed as well and blushing lightly.

"Seems Brock may have actually found a woman who likes him!" May whispered to Ash as she handed Nurse Joy the rest of her pokéballs.

"Ha, I think you may be right, but maybe if he wasn't willing to jump all over every women he met he would have better luck in the long run though." Ash said surprisingly knowingly for himself as he also gave the nurse his pokémon as well.

May didn't answer; in fact she looked shocked that Ash had appeared to understand anything about love at all. _Maybe he's just hiding his true feelings and he actually could love a slightly clueless and clumsy coordinator like me! _She thought excitedly.

Ash looked at her like he was waiting for an answer, but May was saved by Brock returning from his earlier failure.

"Can you look after my pokémon as well Joy?" Brock asked holding out a handful of pokeballs.

"Of course, that's not a problem at all." Nurse Joy answered blushing again.

"Well guys let's put our stuff in our room and then May and me can get to our battle." Ash said heading for the room.

* * *

Alright May, let's get this battle started. Ash said looking at Pikachu standing in his battle stance on the field.

"Okay, but don't go easy on me. I need you to treat this like a real battle so I can get the most out of it!" May shouted winking at him from the other side of the field. She threw out her pokeball and Eevee did a small flip and then took her own battle stance on the field.

Ash felt his mind clouded with his thoughts of May. He was so distracted that he didn't even hear her call her first attack.

May saw Ash's reaction and laughed slightly as she watched Eevee charge in to tackle Pikachu. _There's nothing in the rules against messing with another trainer's mind. _She thought.

Pikachu leaped out of the way at the last possible second. "Pika, Chu, Pi!" He shouted to his trainer to pull his attention back to the battle.

_Oh yeah, I've got to pay attention. I can't let her distract me. "_Pikachu use quick attack!" Ash said remembering the battle he was currently involved in.

Max shot Brock a confused look, as he had never seen Ash get this distracted by anything during a battle before. Brock merely shot him a look that said he would explain later and returned to judging the battle.

The small mouse Pokémon shock across the field in a blur of yellow. As he reached Eevee however the she jumped straight up and Pikachu flew under her. As she landed the ground began to shake.

"Wow, I didn't know Eevee knew earthquake!" Max shouted.

"She doesn't. What's going on?" May answered her young brother.

The shaking continued as a giant tangela appeared from the forest near the group.

"There's no way a tangela could get that large!" Brock shouted as the group ran closer together in the clearing.

Two vines shot from the mecha and grabbed Pikachu and Eevee.

"Hey! Give back our pokémon!" Ash and May shouted at the same time.

"Prepare for trouble." Jessie began as a platform rose from the top of the tangela.

"Make it double." James continued.

"An evil as old as the galaxy."

"Sent here to fulfill our destiny."

"Plus there's me." Meowth added in.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie"

"And James"

"And Meowth are the names."

"Anywhere there's peace in the universe."

"Team Rocket."

"Will be there."

"To make everything worse." The trio finished their motto together.

"Mime, mime." Jame's small Pokémon copied from where it sat on his shoulder.

"Team Rocket!" The group of trainers yelled together.

"We should have known it was about time for you guys to show up!" Ash shouted.

"Now we have Pikachu and Eevee and with all your other Pokémon being healed there's nothing you can do about it." Jessie cackled as the platform descended back into the tangela.

"Darn, she's right. But we still have to try so here goes. Pikachu try thunderbolt!" Ash shouted the anger in his eyes directed at the trio who had tried for too long to catch his Pokémon."

Pikachu released a massive bolt of electricity directly into the vine that held him. However the electricity seemed to have no affect on the giant mecha.

"You twoips should know by now that we's learned from our past mistakes. This tings electric proof." Meowth taunted.

"May, Team Rocket's plans aren't usually well thought out, try using one Eevee's attacks." Max told her from where he now stood near Brock."

"Eevee aim a shadow ball right for the vine." May shouted from the ground.

"Vee!" The evolution pokémon replied angrily from where she was held before forming a sphere of dark energy in front of her mouth. When it was about the size of a basketball she released it, sending it flying directly through the vine where it tore through it and continued into the belly of the mecha.

"Meowth! I thought you said this thing was poké proof!" James yelled worriedly from the control room in the head of the mecha."

"No I only said it was pika proof. Protecting it from all attacks cost too much so I went with what the twoips use most often."

"You fool!" Jessie yelled hitting him on the head before glancing out the window of the mecha again. "Ah guys don't look now but I think we lost our catch."

After landing and wiggling free of the hand that held her Eevee quickly charged another shadow ball and cut the vine holding Pikachu who had now gotten out and is standing next to her.

"Now Eevee keep using shadow ball to put more holes in it." May said.

Eevee fired a barrage of shadow balls into the midsection of the mecha enlarging the hole from her original one.

"Now that it's broken use thunderbolt on the hole Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

"Pi-Ka-Chu!" The mouse Pokémon yelled as it unleashed a massive charge from its cheeks hitting the tangela.

It began to shake violently and shine a bright white temporarily stunning Ash and May as they stood close to it.

"Look out May it's going to explode!" Ash shouted as he dove and shoved both of them to the ground to protect her from the inevitable explosion. He saw Pikachu do something similar to Eevee who was even closer than they were.

BOOM

In a massive eruption of noise, light and debris the mecha exploded. Unfortunately for everyone around it they were also caught in the explosion sending them flying high above the forest in a wide variety of directions.

"Looks like Team Rockets blasting off again!" The trio yelled disappearing into a tiny speck on the horizon.

* * *

**Yeah I know most of you didn't want to see Drew again in this story but he's going to play a part in the final chapter.**

**Thanks to all of you who read this. Sorry again for taking so long to update. Please tell me what you think of it. Now I'm going to get started on the next chapter. Thanks **


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